The SUN IS SHINING!!!! Happy faces All Round

Buttercups in the garden

Anyone who knew me on the MA at KIAD should recognise these trees!

Beautiful view of green and lit up fields, cottage to the right

Wow, the sun is out! Though it's a little windy and cold too, but least it's dry!

We went to see our friends at Dunsbeare the other night for a Chinese take away. My Mum and I had a little too much to drink! My Mum was very funny and kept saying, 'Well least I'm a happy drunk!' while she stumbled around the farm causing much laughter. Me? Well I just had major hichups after comsuming lots of wine and then Baileys for after! It was a good night and we got to bed at 2am! And then, oh horrors of horrors, the next morning my Dad wakes up with a sore throat, so it'll be a repeat performance of last time in Devon, where he stays in bed with a temperature and Mum and I do the shopping and the daily chores. I mean, bloody typical and plus the fact that the weather is getting better as well!

Last night I went for a walk across the fields with my camera and took pictures of the amazing sunset which I shall upload onto here tomorrow, as I have a few pictures to put on now to catch up. Flippin dial up connection, it's the bane of my life! Oh and by the way the camera for todays blog is my FANTASTIC Cannon EO5, 300D Digital, the best camera I have EVER bought!

Herb Robert (very good year for them!)

Ragged Robin (Living up to its name!)

Tonight we're going out for an Indian with our friend David (whose family as gone to London for a few days for shopping and has left him all alone!). I never associate Indian meals with Devon, that's more a London thing. We've never had a Indian in all these 14 years, 23 if you count the years we stayed at the farm before the cottage, so it's going to be interesting! And will we still be alive tomorrow? I'll keep you posted!

Red Campion (getting a little ragged now!)

Wild Geranium

I'm still painting hard, not today though, as I'm very tired and also I want to enjoy the sun and go for another walk. It's all excitement on tv with Bill Odie and Springwatch, (click on the blue) on a farm up the road near Hatherleigh. It started last night and it's really good, I expect ALL of my British readers to watch it, BBC2 8pm Mon-Thurs for the next three weeks. It's a lovely Organic Farm called Fishleigh where they have cameras in nest boxes. . . the stars this time are 2 nests of blue tits, Jackdaws, Great tits and of course the badgers, plus a pair of Red Kites somewhere up North and Simon King is in Shetland with the Common Seals and the otters. I'm sure more will be introduced tonight (someone remind me to record it!).

Wild Geranium

Germander Speedwell

White Aubrieta

Mmmmmm, right, that was a LOW fighter jet! I have wondered where the RAF had got to this time (there goes another one!) and they are usually out in this dry, sunny weather! Low, loud and exciting! That and the Hercules are well. I don't like Hot Air Balloons or those mini powered hand glider things, they are more obtrusive then the whole RAF put together!!!!

On that note I'm away to the fields! Lots of love to everyone!

Emy xxx

More Rain, it DOESN'T STOP!

Hey everyone, I'm sorry about the distinct lack of blogging on my part these last few days, I blame the weather! It has been wet, cold and miserable so its given me time in my studio, which I've enjoyed a lot, although I'm exhausted to put it mildly. It's amazing how much brain power is needed to paint!

Not much has been happening though. We haven't had a chance to go anywhere much because of the rain, although the sun was out on Thursday and these are the pictures I took on that day, but firstly a new painting:


Not the best photograph I'll grant you. It's in acrylic and sand and around 150 cm across and 80cm down. Notice how my colours are rather dark, well, that's the weather. This is one of a pair, the latter is drying as I type this. At the end of these few weeks in Devon, I'll paint my studio wall white and photograph them all properly!

This is the pub in Shebbear and the story goes that the devil came one night and left a large stone in the centre of the village and every year on 5th November the locals turn it over to the other side to ward off evil spirits. Mad I know! But what can you do with superstitious Devon?

The church at Shebbear


Fred (!) No, he's not really called Fred, just kidding!

The good old Victorians, they nicely ruined this church!

In the pub's ladies toilet was an old school picture from Edghill School, Bideford, taken in 1932. I had to take a picture of this as the woman in white must have been the school's matron, They don't wear clothes like that anymore, do they?! And where are they all now? Not much of an end to end up in a toilet!

My Scots Pine from the main road (A386 heading towards Okehampton)

Heading towards 'our' patch, Dartmoor view from the top road

Our spacious cottage yard

And finally the Hawthorn is flowering


Bee at 9 o'clock!

It's actually such a lovely feeling to start painting again. Yesterday I felt so relaxed afterwards and walked around in a dream, the world my oyster and everything, even in the rain, seemed wonderful!

Emy xxx

Wow The Sun!!!!!. . . Oh Then It Started Raining!

At 8am this morning, the whole of the South West thought it was going to be another day like yesterday, endless, relentless rain, but by 11am the sun came out and stayed out until 3pm. Only 4 hours of sun but the best 4 hours of sun ever! It just shows you that when the sun is given a chance this time of year it can become so warm, barmy and everyone smiles.

We went to Shebbear today, more about the village, church and 'ghost story' tomorrow. We saw a house for sale, lovely house yet too small for us and right on the lane, yet it had great potential. But we're not really on the market to sell just yet, we're just being nosey, seeing what's around and what you can get with your bucks.

When we came home, the sun shone and the lilac was awashed with butterflies. My first Red Admiral, Peacock (my fav butterfly), Tortishell and Painted Lady. I sat up on the wall watching them skirt from one flower to the next, while the Skylark sang above me. Amazing what comes out when the sun shines! The fox cubs are getting bigger and bolder in the field, the blue tits babies in the box by the car port are getting older and louder (I've never seen a pair of birds work so hard to feed their young, a constant stream of in out in out with their beaks full of slugs and flies and anything else they can find!) and I saw a Bank Vole too! Unfortunately there is a rather large rat in the garden as well, I need my friend's dead dog Tess to come back and hunt it down. She was the best ratter in the district! They had her on a much longer chain then her son Rocky as her kennel was right near one of the barns, where the rats lived and I knew her to catch 2 or 3 every day. I miss her!

Peacock Butterfly on the Lilac

So I sat in the middle of the garden making my daisy chains and my first 'lambs tail' of the year.

Lamb's Tail made out of Dasies

Every so often a tractor would go by and give me a big cheery wave. As I said everyone is happy when the sun shines. Then, as always, a big blanket of cloud came over and by 6pm it began to drizzle and it still is. Nevermind, the sun is destined to come for Sunday so I'm not complaining, AND I've started painting! 6 are on the go and one is finished, it just needs to be varnished. It's so exciting to smell the paint again and get covered in it too! I just feel pretty warn out now and I have 'painter's shoulder' ! So bed for me and good book. Yes, right now!

Emy xxx

Never- Ending Rain

Today:

Rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain and even more rain.
Relentless, rain cloud after another rain cloud after another rain cloud after another.
Black sky, grey sky, white sky, black sky, grey sky, white sky, black sky, grey sky, white sky.
A hint of brightness? Only lasts a split second, in its place is rain, rain, rain, more rain.
Drizzle, downpour, drizzle, downpour, drizzle, downpour, drizzle, downpour.
Endless rain, all seconds, all minutes, all hours, all day, the whole day and it rains
and it rains and it rains and it rains and it rains and it rains and it rains and it rains.
Dripping wet in Bideford, dripping wet in Torrington, dripping wet in the garden.
Fish don't mind, ducks love it, but cows huddle together under trees. . .
miserable, unhappy, soggy, soaking, starring out into nothing from blurry wet eyes.
Will it ever stop? Will we ever see the sun again and the blue skies?
Will we ever have a red sunset signifying a glorious day tomorrow?
As the light fades, the blackbird still sings yet drenched.
Life goes on and yet it still rains.
And you know what?
It's still raining.

No pictures today I'm afraid. Tomorrow maybe. And Britain is meant to be under a drought warning? Don't make me laugh.

Emy xxx

A Thousand Photographs (Well 21!)

I love this place

Hello all, sorry it has been a few days, I've been too busy enjoying myself! Though I haven't yet started painting, I'm working up to it, it always takes me about a week to settle in and take in the atmosphere, but as the weather has been so bad, it's been harder this time (Excuse? Maybe).

So I have a lot to catch up on and by the way, thanks for all the comments, it may seem I'm ignoring all of you but as I only have dial up here it's a lot harder to keep in contact! (Excuse? Not at all!!!!)

So enough of that, here's a MAJOR photo archive of the last few days. It was my Dad's Birthday yesterday and he was very happy with all the presents he received, not to mention the Blair Athol Whiskey, I've never seen my Dad so unsuspecting, shocked, amazed and happy before so that was a real boost to me, as he's been down of late. Of course the whiskey was opened after 3 bottles of wine and yes, we all passed out after that! A little bit of a hangover today, but nothing a nice comfortable bed and good book couldn't fix!

Yes there it is, a perfect example of a 12 year old Highland Whiskey. Beautiful.

Anyway, photographs:

The same field where I found the four-leaf clover and of course I tried to find another and of course I didn't find one! It was a pure fluke!

Look closely at this buttercup, underneath can you see the hair?

I had just seen two fighting fox cubs less then 10 feet from me, of course I'm going to look like that!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One glorious sunset of last night (it gets better!)

This picture is on my wallpaper for my desktop!

I love the golden light on the siver metal of the gate

And the light on the Hawthorn

Now you don't see sunsets like that in London!

Wow!

Look at the colours, what a painting!

Golden

The lilac by the wood shed (today)

Old Chapel Cottage

The same

Today, notice the rain clouds!

I think it's wheat in the field

A few hours ago, walking up the top with my Dad


Dartmoor in the distance between two Scots Pine

The grey cloud which poured over us! (typical)

Well, that's all for this evening!

Emy xxx

My Famous Walk Across the Fields and Far Away!

Red Campion in bunches

Scots Pine

Real British Wild Blue Bell!!!!!!!

Hello, I'm just escaping from the Eurovision Song Contest on BBC1, it's pretty dire, but, I'm on wine so I'm not too fussed! Yet the UK entry is kind of cool! We'll never win though! EVER!!!!

So I went for my walk today, across the fields and far away, where I encountered 4 fox cubs, one dead fox and many torn apart dead pheasants. I had a little bit of a fright, the game keepers dogs came and jumped all over me. . .I didn't mind the spaniels nor the lab but the lurchers (oh dear God!), my friend's dog Storm was torn apart by a lurcher a few years ago, Storm recovered but the attacker was destroyed, and the dogs I met today were owned by the same. . .BIG LURCHER JUMPED ALL OVER ME!!!!!!! Only being friendly, but did my legs wobble afterwards! You know, I'm minding my own business and I have as much right as they do to be in the fields and knowing full well that these devil hell hounds rip up foxes, pet dogs and all other kind of animals on a daily basis, so no wonder I was a little frightened. . .Well, petrified!

The gateway to paradise (didn't mean to be corny!)

Still lots more rain to come, dark clouds over the corn

Scots pine and opening in the sky

Anyway, I took some nice pictures and stayed out of the rain and the badgers are still thriving, so I left them some nuts!

The cottage from the fields of corn

Scots Pine they are really falling apart now!

Lovely skies

The photographer enjoying her nice sit down!

Fox cub

The picture above is pretty bad as I was standing some distance away. Sorry guys, but least it's alive and not dead (not for very long I suspect with those lurchers on the loose!)

Emy xxx